Jonathan Karl Hails Biden’s ‘Powerful’ Eulogy of Bob Dole: One of His ‘Best Speeches’
ABC News chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl called President Joe Biden’s eulogy on Friday at the late Sen. Bob Dole’s funeral “one of the best speeches” he’s heard from him “in a long time.”
During the funeral at Washington National Cathedral in the nation’s capital, Biden said that Dole, with whom he served in the Senate for 23 years, “understood that we’re all part of something much bigger than ourselves, and he really did, I felt.”
“He really understood it. And a compromise isn’t a dirty word. It’s the cornerstone of democracy,” he continued. “Consensus is requiring in a democracy to get anything done. That’s how you get things done.”
Chief White House correspondent Cecilia Vega noted that Karl covered Dole, who died on Sunday at the age of 98, on Capitol Hill and on the campaign trail when Dole unsuccessfully ran as the GOP presidential nominee in 1996.
Standing outside the cathedral, Karl said:
He was one of the great political figures of his time, and that speech that you just heard, that eulogy that you just heard from Joe Biden was the heartfelt eulogy of a friend, of political opponent, but a friend. I have to say that that was one of the best speeches that I have seen Joe Biden give in a long time.
And I think it’s because of where it was coming from. He talked about the courage, grit, goodness and grace of his friend Bob Dole. Somebody he had served with, fought bitterly with at times, but, as you said, said they could disagree without being disagreeable. They were on the opposite of virtually every major issue when during that quarter of a century together they served in the Senate.
But there was something else in that speech from President Biden, I thought, Cecilia, when he talked about the fact that Dole understood that compromise is not weakness but compromise is the cornerstone of democracy. When he talked about disagreeing without being disagreeable, it seemed to me there was a wistfulness, a wish from President Biden that the Republicans that he is dealing with now could be more like Bob Dole, wishing that he was dealing with somebody like Bob Dole right now trying to craft compromises with, because he knew that he could work with him. He knew that that they could work together despite their deep political disagreements. I thought that was a very powerful speech from President Biden and it was a tribute to Bob Dole. But it was something more.
Watch above, via ABC.
